Button
For other uses of the word button, see Button (disambiguation). For the British Formula 1 driver, see Jenson Button. For the Pussycat Dolls song, see Buttons (song). |
A small flat button |
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Metal, plastic, and leather shank buttons. |
A
button is small disc- or knob-shaped object attached to
cloth or an article of
clothing in order to secure an opening, or for
ornamentation. Functional buttons work by slipping the buttons through a fabric or thread loop, or by sliding the button through a slit called a
buttonhole.
Buttons may be manufactured from an extremely broad variety of
materials, including natural materials such as
antler,
bone,
horn,
ivory,
shell,
vegetable ivory, and
wood; or synthetics such as
celluloid,
glass,
metal, and
plastic.
Hard plastic is by far the most common material for newly manufactured buttons. The other options tend to occur only in premium apparel.
Buttons and button-like objects used as ornaments rather than fasteners have been discovered in the
ancient Indus Valley during its Kot Diji phase (circa
2800-
2600 BC) and
Bronze Age sites in
China (circa
2000-
1500 BC), and are attested in
Ancient Rome. Functional buttons for clothing became widespread with the rise of snug-fitting clothing in
13th- and
14th-century Europe.
*
Shank buttons have a small ring or a bar with a hole called the
shank protruding from the back of the button, through which thread is sewn to attach the button.
*
Covered buttons are fabric-covered forms with a separate back piece that secures the fabric over the knob.
*
Flat or sew-through buttons have two or four holes punched through the button through which the thread is sewn to attach the button. Flat buttons may be attached by
sewing machine rather than by hand, and may be used with heavy fabrics by working a
thread shank to extend the height of the button above the fabric.
*
Worked or cloth buttons are created by
embroidering or
crocheting tight stitches (usually with
linen thread) over a knob or ring called a
form.
*
Mandarin buttons are knobs made of intricately knotted strings. Mandarin buttons are a key element in
Mandarin dress (
Qi Pao in
Chinese), where they are closed with loops. Pairs of mandarin buttons worn as
cuff links are called
silk knots.
Button sizes
Buttons are commonly measured in
lignes (also called
lines and abbreviated
L), with 40 lignes equal to 1 inch. For example, some standard sizes of buttons are 18L (11.43 mm, standard button of mens'
shirts) and 32L (20.32 mm, typical button on
suit jackets).
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Machine-stitched keyhole buttonhole with bar |
Functional buttons (as opposed to decorative buttons) are normally paired with a buttonhole. Alternately, a decorative loop of
cloth or
rope may replace the buttonhole. Buttonholes may be either made by hand sewing or automated by a
sewing machine. Types of buttonholes are:
*A plain buttonhole, by far the most common type. In plain buttonholes, the raw (cut) edges of the fabric are finished with
thread in very closely spaced stitches (if made by hand, often the
buttonhole stitch). When stitched by hand, a slit is made in the fabric first and the result is called a
worked buttonhole.
Sewing machines offer various levels of automation to creating plain buttonholes.
*A machine-made buttonhole is usually sewn with two parallel rows of
machine sewing in a narrow
zig-zag stitch, with the ends finished in a broader zig-zag stitch. (One of the first automatic buttonhole machines was invented by
Henry Alonzo House in
1862.)When made by machine, the slit between the sides of the buttonhole is opened after the stiching is completed.
*A
bound buttonhole, which has its raw edges encased by pieces of fabric or
trim instead of stitches.
*A
keyhole buttonhole is a special case of a thread-finished buttonhole that is normally machine-made due to the difficulty of achieving it by hand working. It is characterized by a round hole at the end of the slit to accommodate the button's shank without distorting the fabric.Keyhole buttonholes are most often found on
tailored
coats and jackets.
Buttonholes often have a
bar at either end. This is a row of perpendicular hand or machine stitching to reinforce the ends of a buttonhole.
*
Frog*
Snap fastener*
ZipperButtoned doublet, later 16th century.Carl Kohler,
A History of Costume, Dover 1963 reprint, ISBN 0486210308
Bryan Bunch,
The History of Science and Technology, Houghton Mifflin Books, 2004 ISBN 0618221239
Michael Loewe and Edward L Shaughnessy, eds.,
The Cambridge History of Ancient China, 1999, ISBN 052147030
*
Worked button making in Dorset*
Types of Buttons*
Button seal*
Design templates and instructions for making buttons*
Button-making in Birmingham, England in the 1800s*
How to make a button video tutorial. /
Button Maker
